Battle of Miskel’s Farm
On the afternoon of March 31, Mosby and about 70 of his Rangers set out
from Rectortown in Fauquier County towards Farifax County through snow and
rain. Their destination was Dranesville near the Loudoun County border.
They planned on attacking the Union garrison stationed there, which was
often sent into Loudoun and Fauquier to raid Mosby's Confederacy.
MoreUnfortunately for
the Rangers, they were foiled by their own success. Upon arriving in
Dranesville, they found the garrison abandoned, having been pulled back
east of Difficult Run in the face of mounting pressure from the partisan
warfare being waged by Mosby. With night fast approaching, the Rangers set
out back west into Loudoun, eventually stopping at the farm of Thomas and
Lydia Miskel about 10:00 p.m. to get forage for their mounts and to rest
for the night. At the farm, located on the eastern bank of the Broad Run a
few miles north of the Leesburg Pike (present day Rt.7), the Rangers felt
safe from Federal patrols. Most of the Rangers tied their mounts in the
barnyard and made their beds in the barn, which was surrounded by a high
fence with only a single gate opening out to the lane running to the road
to Leesburg pike. The lane, in turn, was bounded on both sides by two
fences. Mosby and his officers took refuge in the main house. The presence
of Mosby and his Rangers was a conspicuous sight to the locals, who knew
all too well what the Federals might do to them if they were found aiding
and abetting the Rangers. Thus, a local woman, hoping perhaps to spare
herself such a calamity or maybe just an outright Union sympathizer, made
her way to the Federal lines at Union Church, arriving around midnight.
She reported Mosby's presence to Major Charles F. Taggart of the 2nd
Pennsylvania Cavalry. Upon learning the news, Taggart immediately
dispatched Captain Henry C. Flint and five companies of the 1st Vermont
Cavalry to kill or capture the Rangers. By early dawn, the Federals had
reached Broad Run on the Leesburg Pike, and stopped briefly at a house off
the Road to inquire as to the whereabouts of the Miskel Farm. After
receiving the information, they set out towards Miskel Farm and Mosby's
unsuspecting men. As fate would have it, Ranger Dick Moran had been in the
house the Federals stopped at visiting friends. As soon as the Federals
left, he mounted his horse and took off across the fields to warn Mosby
and his fellow Rangers. As Captain Flint approached the Miskel Farm, he
divided his command, assigning Captain George H. Bean command of a small
50-man reserve force while he maintained command of the vanguard. Bean was
detailed with the duty of barricading the barnyard gate after Flint and
his men went through and then circling around behind the barn to cut of
all routes of escape for the Rangers. Just as Flint prepared to attack,
Dick Moran came rushing by and burst into the barnyard yelling for his
comrades to mount up and prepare to give fight. The Rangers rushed to
their mounts, and Mosby burst from the main house as the Federals charged
into the barnyard. Though armed with carbines, Flint opted for the romance
of a cavalry charge and ordered his man to unsheathe their sabers. As the
Federals fell upon the Rangers, they were met with a sharp volley of
pistol fire from the partially mounted Confederates. Flint was killed
instantly, struck by six bullets, and fell from his horse. At this point,
the Federal attack broke down and the men began to panic as they struggled
to break through the locked gate. Among the first to make it through the
gate was Bean, who, after Flint Fell, was supposed to be in command. Mosby
seized the initiative and ordered led counterattack with the 20 or so
Rangers that had been able to mount up. The Rangers were on top of the
Federals, who were trapped in the barnyard lane, almost instantly, causing
the vast majority to surrender. Those who managed to escape were pursued
for several miles by the victorious Rangers. When the smoke cleared, Mosby
had suffered one killed and three wounded. The Rangers killed 9, including
Flint and another officer, 15 wounded, including three officers and 82
captured. In addition, 95 horses were seized by the Rangers. The fight
resulting in a crushing defeat for the Federals—they had the Rangers
bottled up in a barnyard with only one exit, on a farm surrounded on two
sides by water and outnumbered them by more than 2 to 1. By all accounts,
the Rangers should have been completely wiped out than morning, but the
Flint made several mistakes. The most glaring was his insistence on
leading a saber charge against the Rangers, who made notorious use of
drawn pistols in their fights. The Vermonters were armed with carbines,
which the Rangers could not match. If Flint had dismounted and attacked
with those weapons the Federals could have handedly overpowered the
trapped Rangers, and in all likelihood Flint would have survived the fight
rather than running head on into the Rangers deadly volley. Flint's second
mistake was dividing his unit and placing Bean in second command. What
knowledge Flint had of Bean's leadership qualities in unknown, but even
after Flint had been killed, the Federals still had the Rangers surrounded
and outnumbered, a competent officer could still have rallied the unit and
pressed the attack, instead Bean lead the retreat. For his incompetence
and cowardice Bean was subsequently drummed from the service. The fight
taught the young commander and his troops many valuable lessons; never
again would put himself in such a vulnerable position, nor leave himself
camped without the protection of pickets.